How to Write

1. How to Write A Primer on Effective Writing

2. General Approach • Goals should be Clarity, Concision, and Coherence. We will work on these all year… • Clarity: the quality of being clear • Good grammar – complete, clear sentences, free from awkward phrasing or errors. • Active Language – avoid linking verbs when possible, avoid passive sentences. • Clear ideas – fuzzy, inexact, half-thought ideas result in fuzzy, inexact, throw-away sentences. • Specific Language – take the time to find the EXACT word, not just close enough. • Clean document – MLA format; no wrinkles, tears, smudges, etc.; legible handwriting.

3. General Approach "Don't use any extra words. A sentence is like a machine; it has a job to do. An extra word in a sentence is like a sock in a machine.“ -Annie Dillard, "Notes for Young Writers."  • Concision: the quality of using the fewest words to say the most. • Better writing is concise. It expresses complex ideas with fewer words. • Concise writing does not use filler words and sentences to make it look longer, but makes an essay longer by adding more ideas, not repeating the same ideas again. • Eliminate “warming up” phrases like “My opinion is…” or “The fact of the matter is that…” or “The point I wish to make is…” or “The reason is because…” • Eliminate “very”, “really”, or other intensifiers and replace with better descriptor. For instance: • “The fact of the matter is that the really stupid rabbit was also very hungry” should turn in to “The idiotic rabbit was also famished.”

4. General Approach • Coherence: the quality of “sticking together” or creating a unified whole. • Stay on the main point (the thesis, in an essay) • Paragraph topic sentences should relate directly to the thesis. • Examples and details should be connected directly to the topic sentences. • Organize writing according to purpose. • Have a plan.

5. MLA Format • Use MLA Format for all written assignments (including homework and classwork) • See Writing Guidelines handout for details regarding… • Headings • Font • Margins • Use of complete sentences (always, unless told otherwise)

6. Integrating Textual References • 3 Ways: Summarize, Paraphrase, Quote • Summary: explains the main idea of a long passage. • Paraphrase: restates a short passage in other words. • Quote: recounts the exact words from a passage. • ALL uses of an outside text require attribution • In MLA, this attribution is accomplished through parenthetical documentation.

7. Integrating Quotations • Quoting selectively:after you have decided that you do want to use material in quoted form, quote only the portions of the text specifically relevant to your point. • Think of the text in terms of units– • words, phrases, sentences, and groups of sentences (paragraphs, stanzas)--and use only the units you need. • Ifit is particular words or phrases that "prove" your point, you do not need to quote the sentences they appear in; • rather, incorporate the words and phrases into sentences expressing your own ideas.

8. Integrating Quotations A. An introducing phrase or orienter plus the quotation: • In this poem it is creation, not a hypothetical creator, that is supremely awesome. [argument sentence] The speaker asks, "What immortal hand or eye / Dare frame thy fearful symmetry?” [orienterbefore quote] • Gatsby is not to be regarded as a personal failure. [argument sentence] "Gatsby turned out all right at the end" (176), according to Nick. [orienterafter quote] • "I know you blame me," Mrs. Compson tells Jason (47). [orienterafter quote] Is she expressing her own sense of guilt? [argument sentence]

9. Integrating Quotations B. An assertion of your own and a colon plus the quotation: • Vivian hates the knights for scorning her, and she dreams of achieving glory by destroying Merlin's: "I have made his glory mine" (390). • Fitzgerald gives Nick a muted tribute to the hero: "Gatsby turned out all right at the end" (176). • Cassiorepresents not only a political but also a personal threat to Iago: "He hath a daily beauty in his life / That makes me ugly . . ." (5.1.19-20).

10. Integrating Quotations C. An assertion of your own with quoted material worked in: • For Nick, who remarks that Gatsby "turned out all right" (176), the hero deserves respect but perhaps does not inspire great admiration. • Satan's motion is many things; he "rides" through the air (63), "rattles" (65), and later explodes, "wanders and hovers" like a fire (293). • Even according to Cleopatra, Mark Antony's "duty" is to the Roman state. [Adapted from the UW-Madison Writing Center]

11. Dealing with Titles • Short texts get quotation marks: “Title” • Poems • Short Stories • Articles • Essays • Songs • Long texts get italics (when typing) or underline (when handwriting): Title or Title • Novels • Collections of Poems • Collections of Short Stories • Newspapers • Magazines • Albums

12. Deadly Sins: Mistakes You Must Not Make! • If you make one of these mistakes on an assignment, the penalty will be: • For English 10 Honors: you will receive a zero (0) on the assignment and must revise the assignment and turn in again the next day for late credit. • For English 11 CP: you will receive a one (1) point deduction for every Deadly Sin committed (on any assignment, including quizzes, homework, and classwork) • For AP English Literature and Composition: you will receive a zero (0) on the assignment.

13. 1. Capitalize proper nouns • If you are talking about a specific personor location, capitalize it! • EX> I live in Fort Bragg, next to the Pacific Ocean. (This is a specific town by one particular ocean!) • Capitalize all languages and nationalities (like English!) • Also remember to capitalize the beginning of sentences!

14. 2. Use apostrophes with contractions • Did not = didn’t • The apostrophe MUST appear exactly where the letters areomitted • O’clock = on the clock, so the apostrophe replaces n, t, h, AND e!

15. 3. There/Their/They’re • There = a place • Their = they own it • They’re = they are

16. 4. Its, it’s • It’s = contraction: it + is = it’s • Ex: It’s good to be alive. • Its = possessive, showing ownership or belonging. • Ex: The bird built its nest. It’s not a very big one.

17. 5. To, Two, Too • To = connector • Two = the number • Too = Also; OR, an extreme degree of something • I went to her party, but I was too late for the two cakes.

18. 6. A LOT = 2 words! • TWO WORDS, not ONE!! • “There’s a lot of noise in the cafeteria. They’re testing their emergency system.” • However, you should probably never use it anyway – it’s a weak phrase.

19. Always spell out words correctly Its rly annyng 2 hv 2 figr out whturtryng 2 sy. 7. No Text Speak

20. 8. More commonly confused words: • beginning (begin + ing, double the consonant first) • cause (means to make something happen) / ‘cause (short for “because”) Never “cuz” • college (there are no “a’s” in college; NOT colledge) • English (always capitalize all nationalities and languages) • feel / fill / fell • would have / would’ve (NEVER would of or woulda) Could have / could’ve (Never could ofor coulda) Should have / should’ve (Never should of or shoulda) • know / no / now • no one (is always two words) • opinion (no ‘a’ in opinion) • probably (NOT prolly, NOT probly)

21. 9. Yet More commonly confused words: • quiet / quite / quit • realize (has the root “real”) • receive (“I” before “E” except after “C”) • remember (em happens twice; NOT member or rember) • separate (sep-A-rate) • since (time) / sense (5 senses; Spideysense) • then (time) / than (comparison) • there (place) / they’re (they are) / their (possessive) • where (place) / were (linking verb) / we’re (we are) • whether (“whether or not”) / weather (how it feels outside) • writing • you’re (you are / you were) / your (possession) • each other (always two words) • lose (opposite of win) / loose (not tight) • definitely (it’s ‘finite’ with ‘de’ as prefix and ‘ly’ as suffix)

22. Sentence Patterns: A Grammar Reminder • Add complexity and correctness to your sentences with these reminders. • First, some key definitions you must know: • Phrase – a group of words that does a single job in a sentence • For instance, a prepositional phrase describes a relationship between two objects: “in the air” or “at the beach” • Subject – the noun or pronoun that the sentence is about • Predicate – what the SUBJECT does or is (the verb plus the verb’s modifiers)

23. Sentence Patterns • Clause– a group of words that includes a SUBJECT and a VERB • Example: The rabbit was crushed. SUBJECT VERB • Independent Clause (IC) – a CLAUSE that expresses a complete idea and therefore can stand as its own sentence. • The clause above is an Independent Clause (IC).

24. Sentence Patterns • Subordinating Conjunction (SC) – a linking word that turns an Independent Clause (IC) into a Dependent one • Examples: because, if, when, although, until, unless… • Example: Because the rabbit was crushed, _________. SC SUBJECT VERB • So, the above sentence is a Dependent Clause (DC)

25. Sentence Patterns • Coordinating Conjunction (CC) – linking words that join two equally important parts of a sentence • and, or, for, nor, yet, so, but • Transitional Adverb (TA) • however, therefore, moreover, additionally, consequently, etc. • We can join these different elements in a number of different ways to create different types (patterns) of sentences: • Independent Clause (IC) • Dependent Clause (DC) • Coordinating Conjunction (CC) • Subordinating Conjunction (SC) • Transitional Adverb (TA)

26. Sentence Patterns • Simple Sentences: 1. IC. • Compound Sentences: 2. IC; IC. 3. IC, CC IC. 4. IC; TA, IC. • Complex Sentences: 5. IC DC. 6. DC, IC. • Compound-Complex Sentences: 7. IC; IC DC. 8. IC, CC IC DC. 9. DC, IC, CC IC. 10. DC, IC; TA, IC. 11. IC DC, CC IC. • …and many more…